THE FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM KEEP ON WORKING AWAY
 Ruben
Xaus left Mugello having taken two more World Championship
points in the Italian Grand Prix. The Fortuna Yamaha rider
keeps on progressing, even if it is only small steps, and
will be hoping to put on a good show at the next round in
Barcelona. For his part, David Checa took the positives from
his first MotoGP race despite having encountered problems
early in the race that forced him to return to his box. The
Spaniard did not manage to score any points, but did finish
the race.
Rubén Xaus, 14th - 13th in the championship
with 18 points
"I did not get away well and, although Colin started
as badly as me, I let him through because I did not want to
take any risks. It was different with Roberts, though, and
I did not let him through. It took me a while to get past
Rolfo because his Ducati was very fast on the straights and
in those five or six laps I fell behind the group of Nakano
and Hopkins who I could have competed with easily. The important
thing was to score some points and see how the M1 rode and
learn some more about it. Although I am making slow progress
it will allow me to make a big jump in the future, and I hope
that is soon. In fact, I am looking forward to racing at Montmelo
next week, I can’t wait. You have good days and bad
days, but the most important thing is to score points when
things aren’t going well.”
David Checa, 19th
"As soon as I started I felt problems in the rear of
the bike which I did not know about, and they forced me back
to the box. I came back out a lap down and decided to take
things easy, enjoy myself, ride my own race and get a few
kilometres under my belt. With the weekend as a whole I feel
satisfied. Qualifying went well for me and I knew the race
was going to be difficult on this bike as I didn’t have
great rhythm on it. I am happy and I hope that Yamaha are
happy with me. I will be at Barcelona next weekend but I don’t
know if I will be riding yet. I hope Toni Elias is back as
soon as possible and if he says he is ready to race next weekend
then I will be happy for him. However, if they ask me to continue,
I will be very motivated.”
HERVE PONCHARAL
“It was a very hard race. I believe Ruben rode his
best race of the season and is getting better on the bike
all the time. He lapped on his own for most of the race and
was catching the group ahead of him all the time. I hope his
progression continues next week. David did well even though
he had a problem that forced him to go back to the box. I
am speaking with Toni every day on the phone and he is working
very hard. I hope to have him back as soon as possible.”
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